Flight cancellations in the USA: A single file was to blame

system failure
Flight cancellations in the US: How a single file grounded thousands of planes

Recently, nationwide flight cancellations occurred in the United States. Thousands of planes were not allowed to take off, and the airport terminals were filled with people waiting. Blame was apparently a single file.

Last Wednesday got off to a bad start for passengers in the USA: the important “NOTAM” system failed early in the morning. This forced the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to suspend all domestic flights for around two hours (read more here).

For a long time it was unclear what had led to the technical breakdown, many had suspected a hacker attack as the cause. Only in the evening reported the FAAthat there is no evidence of a cyber attack and that a defective database file has been identified as the cause.

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It said: “The FAA is working diligently to determine the causes of this issue and to take all necessary steps to prevent such disruptions from recurring.” US President Biden had also called for the investigation.

Critical information system failed

The affected “NOTAM” system (“Notice to Air Missions”) transmits important instructions and information to pilots that are necessary for safe and trouble-free air traffic. These include dangers such as air shows, parachute jumps or rocket launches, but also references to flights by important people or military exercises. Information about closed runways, cranes in the vicinity of the airport, flocks of birds or failed lighting on tall buildings also reaches the flight crew via this system.

+++ Also read: British Airways flight shows: This happens when passengers have to go to the toilet on the approach +++

According to CNN we are currently trying to pinpoint the trigger and find out what corrupted said file, both in the live system and in the backup. It is said that one does not currently know exactly whether it was human error in the form of incorrect operation or a “routine input” that apparently did not have the desired effect. The public will probably only find out what ultimately damaged the file after the investigations have been completed. There can be many reasons.

The problem was already known on Tuesday

According to reports, those responsible noticed the problem on Tuesday and then decided to schedule a system restart for the following morning, when as few take-offs and landings as possible take place. Normally, restarting the affected system takes 90 minutes.

But that didn’t go as planned, an insider told CNN. “The system did come back up, but it didn’t fully output the information needed for a safe flight and it seemed to take longer to do so.” It was only when it became clear that the usual time window for a reboot could not be kept that the decision was made to implement a nationwide flight ban.

Aircraft that were already in the air were informed by air traffic controllers about safety-related changes in the airspace. In the event of an emergency, pilots keep analogue directories available that contain up-to-date information.

Insiders complain about ailing systems

The insider adds to CNN that the failure of the NOTAM system is a good example of how the agency’s digital infrastructure is in dire need of modernization. So far, CNN quotes the source as saying, investments have often been postponed. “I suppose they’re actually going to raise money for it now,” he added.

+++ Read also: Airbus pulls blank: Jumbo A380 should fly with a bare turbine – and thus save fuel +++

The repercussions were on the Twitter account of “Flight Radar” live. Compared to the previous week, there were about 1,500 fewer aircraft in American airspace at the time of the system failure. According to Flightaware, 9,500 flights were delayed and more than 1,300 flights were canceled entirely. American Airlines is said to be particularly hard on it have made around 400 connections.